Fiestaware

I love my fiestaware.  I can not stay committed to one color so this allows me to have dishes in many different colors.  This house has these great displays shelves in the kitchen.  I like to change them up seasonally or whenever the mood strikes me.

Here's the before picture which is the post-Christmas, still winter colors on display.

It then switched to a brighter combination in preparation for spring.  I love the peacock color.  (the bright blue)  It's my new favorite color.  Who am I kidding- they are all my favorite color except lemongrass.

I heard a story that the color was based on a dress First Lady Michelle Obama wore to an inauguration event.  Bizarre story and bizarre color.

This the before shot of the other side of the kitchen.

And after.  I just realized that I have already changed this shelf.  I didn't really like the top shelf so I moved things around.

I know the basket doesn't really go, but it keeps all the "things I need to keep accessible but need to keep away from little hands" such as bug spray, sunscreen, and camera.

Spring soccer

Spring soccer has started for Crash and the Test Pilot.  It's a love/hate relationship for me.  I enjoy watching them play and get some exercise, but I hate the driving to two practices and multiple games each week.  It is what it is so I will quit whining now.  

Here's Crash on Team Wrangler.  They got schooled their first outing.  It's a good thing they don't keep score, but the kids did not seem to notice and played well anyway.  Crash started good, but as the game went on and the temperatures rose he started to give out and asked to come out in the fourth quarter.  We should do better next week with a 9am game.

The Test Pilot is on Team Arrow.  As usual, he is the tallest kid on the team.

He's also the only non-Hispanic kid on the team.  Some of the boys on his team are really good.

He played at the defender position most of the game (which he loves).  It's fun watching him develop some skills with ball handling.  He is good at adapting his position to the position of the ball.

His coach has 5 boys of his own so he has a lot of experience on the soccer field with boys.  We look forward to a good season!

Wiggly tooth

Crash has had a wiggly tooth for several weeks, and...

it finally came out.  He was so excited at the loss of his first tooth.  He was even more excited when he discovered what the tooth fairy leaves.  "MONEY!," he exclaimed.

It was great timing as we were to go the dentist the next day.  I was afraid they would pull the tooth because the permanent tooth was already coming in right behind the baby tooth.  It worked out fine and the dentist says the permanent tooth should move forward over time and take it rightful spot.

He's getting so big!

Home office

The Captain working from home has brought a few changes to our house.  Here's the "home office" originally.  The Captain's parents bought him that desk set about 20 years ago.  It has served us well.  We use the computer quite a bit so when the Captain started working at home, he took the small "L" portion and used that.  It just was not big enough for him and...

...it was too short.  He had to compensate by building up the desk using the kids' blocks.  His back would ache.  We maintained that for as long as he could take it.  We finally decided to buy some office furniture that would work for both of us.

This is the new furniture.  It is quite lovely and quite big.  I am still getting used to having it in my bedroom.  Unfortunately, there is no other place for it to go so there you have it.  I really like the finish that he picked out.

This is the Captain's desk.  He now has room for all his binders, technical papers, books, and other geek stuff that he needs to be the brilliant engineer that he is.  Plus, plenty of room for his coffee cup.  That was a problem before.  He claims he simply can not work without coffee.  (I think he is addicted, but I will stage an intervention later.)

This is my portion.  I love my new chair.  It's so comfy.  The other chairs were great considering they were free; however, they had no lumbar support.  These chairs are just dreamy.

I also love my new bookcase.  I had a bookshelf but it was tiny.  Now I have room for all my  books on Jane Austen, parenting, American history, and Bible devotionals.  I have quite the eclectic reading habits.  With homeschooling, we have been getting a lot more books so this will be used greatly.

The boys are also excited because they get the Captain's old desk.  The current desk in the kitchen was shared between schooling and legos.  The legos were winning.  Now the the boys can dedicate the white desk to legos and the kitchen desk for school.  Mommy and boys are happy.  I will post pictures when we have everything set up.

Apparently, a family of 5 needs 5 desks to function.  

Cousin Camp 2011

Our 2nd week in travelling in NM was spent with our cousins having our annual Cousin Camp.  My mom was also on Spring Break so we all were able to have some fun together.

Here's all the kids at the Biopark.  My youngest nephew is a ham.

Another day we went to the Natural History museum.  The picture cracks me up because in years past have some of the kids sit on the ledge behind for a good dinosaur picture.  A very firm docent instructed us that we were not allowed to do that.  It's kind of odd because the whole place has very little hands off areas.  It's meant for kids to touch and climb. Oh well!  We will wait for the nice docent to leave next time before we take our picture.

Here's a good shot of Cousin E at the park.  Handsome boy!

Wingman's dream day.  We spent a day at the zoo.  The kids ended up facing the sun for the picture which is why they all have strained looks on their faces.

It was cool in the morning so the gorillas were very active.  They were wrestling and "fighting" with each other.  The kids thought it was awesome to watch.

The Test pilot said his favorite day was when we went to the natural history museum.  Crash's favorite was going to the park and playing with light sabers.  Wingman's favorite outing was the zoo.  Good think we have everyone covered.

The week was rounded out with visits from both of my brothers.  The boys LOVE playing Wii, dodgeball, and hide and go seek with their uncles.  We had a great time!

Hip #2

Our next adventure brought us to visit my parents following my dad's 2nd hip replacement.  There was a complication in which his femoral nerve was damaged.  He will have a much longer and more involved recovery this 2nd time around.  We came to help out or just be a distraction.

We did many of the things we usually do but they just looked a little different.  Wingman decided the best place to sit was on Grandave's fancy walker.  His job was to make sure Grandave had plenty of Dr. Pepper at all times.

The boys would play the Wii while Grandave watched.  We had to put protection around Grandave because my boys get a little wild while playing.  They jump around and flail their light sabers.  Grandave learned a lot about Lego Star Wars.

Wingman loves Nana and Grandave's I-pad or I-patch as he called it.  He would lay on the bed between them and play his Thomas game.  He wants his own I-patch.

Going to the big city is fun because I get to shop.  I found the boys these Lego Star Wars shirts at Target.  They have worn them 4 times in the last week.  I think they like them too.

We're back

We are back home.  There has been a lapse in blogging due to sickness, lots of travelling, and all the day to day stuff that just didn't allow any free time.  Truthfully, what little free time I had was spent reading on the couch.  Some days that just wins.  Now we are home and I have a free moment so let's recap.

Our next adventure took us to our annual Family Camp with our church.  We have so much fun every year.  There's always a time for family pictures so here's ours.  Just love those silly smiling boys!

The part I really don't enjoy as much is doing your family song or cheer.  I am not creative, but the Captain usually comes up with something amazing.  The song was to the tune of "Edelweiss" from Sound of Music.  Note to self: have children watch Sound of Music so they don't stand there with blank faces when you tell them to sing.

The organizers made t-shirts for everyone and the children's shirts were this bright yellow.  It was easy to spot them, which was nice since there were close to 40 kids and a river near by.

There a nice concrete walking path throughout the camp which also serves as a great place to ride bikes and scooters.  The boys enjoy that part.

There's also the beautiful Frio River you can view from a canoe ride.  The Captain took all the boys out canoeing.  They liked that.

There was a family kick ball game that the Apple family is decidedly not good at.  We missed the step in parenting where you teach your children to run bases.  Oh well!  We had lots of fun and will be ready for next year.

There were several opportunities for family devotional time which was nice.  There was a men's and ladies' teaching time.  We had fun, lost a lot of sleep, but can't wait to do it again.  See you next year!